Positioned Pt.4 Positioned In God’s Plan
FOCUS SCRIPTURES (NKJV)
Ephesians 3:6–8
Ephesians 3:16–19
Ephesians 3:20–21
INTRODUCTION
+ Click to add your own note
1. THE MYSTERY MADE CLEAR
Ephesians 3:6 (NKJV):
that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel,
+ Click to add your own note
Isaiah 49:6 (NKJV):
Indeed He says,
‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles,
That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’
+ Click to add your own note
Grace tears down walls not only between us and God but also between us and one another.
+ Click to add your own note
If God’s plan includes people we tend to exclude, then discipleship means widening our embrace. Who are you tempted to leave out of the family of God?
+ Click to add your own note
Personal To-Do: Who are the people you secretly believe don’t belong at God’s table? What would it look like for Grace to pull up a chair for them?
+ Click to add your own note
2. THE MINISTRY THROUGH MERCY
Ephesians 3:7–8 (NKJV):
7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. 8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ
+ Click to add your own note
Paul describes his calling to preach as a ministry given by grace. He calls himself “less than the least of all saints,” yet God still entrusted him with the gospel.
+ Click to add your own note
Ministry is not earned by worthiness; it is entrusted by grace.
+ Click to add your own note
1 Timothy 1:15-16 (NKJV):
15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. 16 However, for this reason, I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.
+ Click to add your own note
Mercy is defined as the compassionate, undeserved kindness of God that withholds punishment and forgives sin, often manifesting as an act of relieving suffering. It is a divine attribute and a call for humans to show compassion to others. The key aspects include forgiveness, steadfast love, and pity for the miserable and the guilty.
+ Click to add your own note
Mercy in Ministry refers to compassionate action that addresses the needs of others, rooted in the belief that God shows mercy to people in need.
+ Click to add your own note
Personal To-Do: Seek God for your personal ministry assignment. Ask, “Where is mercy equipping me to serve?”
+ Click to add your own note
3. THE MIGHT THROUGH THE MASTER
Ephesians 3:16–19 (NKJV):
16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
+ Click to add your own note
Ephesians 3:20–21 (NKJV):
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
+ Click to add your own note
God’s might strengthens the inner person so that we as disciples do not collapse under pressure.
+ Click to add your own note
Isaiah 40:29-31 (NKJV):
29 He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
+ Click to add your own note
The love of Christ is not just to be studied but to be experienced.
+ Click to add your own note
God’s power does more than we can ask or imagine because it works within us, not just around us.
+ Click to add your own note
CLOSING CHALLENGE FOR WEEK 3:
Ephesians 3 calls us to live in the clarity of God’s plan, the mercy of God’s ministry, and the might of God’s Spirit. This is not theory; it is practical discipleship.
+ Click to add your own note
Here’s your challenge this week:
- Ask yourself: Where am I running on my own strength? What would it mean for me to be Spirit-charged instead?
+ Click to add your own note
- Memorize Ephesians 3:20 and pray it daily. Identify one way this week to serve others with God’s strength, not your own.
+ Click to add your own note
- Remember: The mystery is not hidden anymore. The plan is revealed, the ministry is entrusted, and the power is available. You are strengthened to live God’s plan.
+ Click to add your own note